'Breakthrough' reference material launched to strengthen anti-doping steps

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday launched the material synthesized by collaborative efforts of National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati.

New Delhi: A "breakthrough" reference material has been launched by the sports ministry for use in chemical testing in the field of anti-doping.

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday launched the material synthesized by collaborative efforts of National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati.

This reference material (RM) has been identified by NDTL as one of the rarely available RMs globally and would be used to strengthen anti-doping measures in all World Anti Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratories, as per an SAI media release.

"This is a special moment for all of us. The substance is small but the impact is big. Sportsmanship means clean sport and no cheating. I congratulate all the scientists in NDTL and NIPER-G for producing one of the 20 Reference Materials," said Rijiju.

'Breakthrough' reference material launched to strengthen anti-doping steps.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NDTL and NIPER Guwahati was signed in August 2020 which proposes to synthesize 20 rarely available Reference Materials (RMs) during a period of three years. These RMs are used essentially during dope testing for quality control purposes and therefore their availability remains critical in sports dope testing, globally.

The availability of these RMs would help the anti-doping laboratories to strengthen their testing capacity. This will help in the greater cause of promoting fair play in sports.

It has also been decided to distribute 5 mg of this indigenously developed RM to all the WADA-accredited dope testing laboratories all around the world free of cost for the first occasion.

This will not only strengthen India's resolve to fight the menace of doping but also instil a sense of unity among all.

"It is a great thing to have the product distributed for free. Lots of goodwill will be generated. We have a moral authority and rightful place in all the WADA labs and we are proud of what we are doing in line with our tradition of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - the whole world is our family," said Rijiju.